Five on Friday: Exploring 5 Random Questions

"Fill your life with experiences.

Not things. Have stories to tell,

not stuff to show."

UNKNOWN

In my travels through social media, sometimes I come across interesting questions people ask their readers. I have taken the liberty of gathering a handful of such questions for today's Five on Friday post. It's been a lot of fun turning my answers into tiny stories to tell you. Hope you enjoy.

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☙ One. If someone offered you a box containing everything you ever lost, what would you look for first? An old coin—with a hole in the middle—that I think once belonged to my grandpa. It was a Chinese coin. My little sister and I both got one, and we'd look at them often. One day I brought my little treasure to school, probably for Show and Tell. I was in Grade 4. And at recess I took it outside with me. To my utter dismay, it slipped through my fingers and went straight down the skinny space between the school wall and concrete steps. My heart lurched as I tried to grab it. Too late. I mourned that coin. After all these years, if it was possible, I would like that coin back. And, after all these years, I still wonder what possessed my nine-year-old self to take it from the safety of her desk to the great outdoors. I never told a soul. 

☙ Two. What do you still remember of the first day of your first job? I don't remember much of the actual day anymore. I was around age 14 or 15. It was the early 1970s, and I remember the flutter of excitement of working at the same small town grocery store where my mom once enjoyed working before she married my dad. I never had to apply for the job. Eddy, the store proprietor, approached Mom and asked if she thought I'd be interested. Oh yes. I worked Saturdays, the busiest day of the week, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (or until the last customer was served), with two coffee breaks and an hour for lunch. That first day I think I began learning the art of packing groceries—tomatoes are never placed on the bottom of the bag with heavy stuff on top and loaves of bread are handled carefully like a baby—and maybe learning to reface shelves, i.e., pulling the cans from the back to the front to fill empty spaces.

What I do vividly recall was how tired my feet were at the end of the long day standing on a concrete floor. And I certainly remember when Dorothy, Eddy's wife, opened the cash box and handed me my wages for the day. A single ten-dollar bill ($1.25/hr). I was thrilled. I'm pretty sure I spent some of it right away on treats to enjoy with my family watching TV that evening. To give you a comparison, one 16 oz. bag of potato chips at that time cost around 89 cents.

☙ Three. What's your biggest pet peeve? Without going into a tirade, it's people who don't obey the rules of the road and who show no courtesy in letting others merge into line. Makes me owl-y.

☙ 4. What was your worst date? I never had a 'worst' date. Some were duds but never awful. To answer the question, perhaps it was with the fellow who invited me to go for dinner (it was nice) and then took me to the Canadian Finals Rodeo. He seemed a lovely fellow and shared the same name as my dad. But going to an event where people wore cowboy boots (eww), rode wild bulls, and roped poor calves to the ground... well, I knew at the end of that evening, I didn't want to pursue this any further and told him so. In truth, my dream date was to be invited to a nice dinner and a movie or concert, something I considered more 'cultured'. As it turns out, twenty years later I married a man who enjoys concerts as much as I do. Neither of us have ever been super sports enthusiasts, although we'll cheer for the home town for sure. I always hoped that the other fellow found his soulmate who loved what he loved. 

☙ Five. What is your favourite movie, and why? This is a hard choice - I have so many forever favourites. But, inching to the top for today's discussion, I choose Chariots of Fire, a British historical drama film. When it first came out in the theatres in 1981, my friend and I went to see it about five times. We couldn't get enough of the movie (both loving the movie itself and both being crazy for all things British). I haven't seen it in recent years, but I still remember some scenes vividly; some lines are forever etched on my mind. (Oh oh, oh...we must interrupt, because can you believe it, as I'm typing the movie title above, the theme music for the movie started playing on Classic FM radio. Synchronicity at play!)

So, why is this a favourite?

1. From the first moment, I loved the theme music by Vangelis. It gives me goosebumps to this day. (You can listen to the composer play HERE.)

2. Chariots of Fire is a period film giving viewers a glimpse of life in Great Britain in the 1920s, post WW I. I loved the feel of this movie, set in a place I hoped to visit one day.

3. I've enjoyed watching the Olympics, so this movie was up my alley. It's based on the true story of two British athletes who ran for England in Paris during the 1924 Olympics. They were both strong characters—I loved their depth as well as the splendid acting by the key actors. I also loved the character, Sybil Gordon, played by actress Alice Krige. She had some fine lines that I loved; her costumes were gorgeous. Though Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams ran for different reasons, they both had drive and determination to spur them on. "Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice." Wikepedia.com  

4. In one scene Eric Liddell speaks to his sister, Jenny, who is fretting because she thinks Eric is spending too much time training and is ignoring his calling from God. He replies, "Jenny, Jenny, I believe God made me for a purpose, for China. He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure."

The words burst on my heart like a shooting star as I sat in that dark movie theatre. I determined to go back to see this movie again just for that line. I think it was my first real glimpse into recognizing that God takes pleasure in us when we're pursuing what we're good at - making use of the gift he's given to us. I'd picked up that sacrificing my life (doing what I might not want or like) for him was what pleased him. It broadened my understanding. Years later, I would take those words for myself when I first began to write. I'd say, I believe God made me for a purpose. He gave me this writing ability. And when I write I feel his pleasure. And I do feel his pleasure. Right here when I write on this blog for you. (That one-minute scene with Eric and Jenny is HERE.)

5. After the film came out (receiving numerous awards), the producers released a commentary on the movie. So many talented, skilled people came together to make this film—people who really cared about creative inspiration, getting the right story, doing their best work, working as a team, and not worrying about whether it would become a blockbuster. They poured their hearts and souls into creating something beautiful and meaningful.

And that's why this movie stars as 'best loved' in my heart.

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I'd be most interested to hear how you'd answer these questions.

Care to share in the comments? Or write your own post?

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Brenda

Photo credit:

Top Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay